


Loved and Found

by iamZYXs



Series: Found and Loved And Kept [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, happy kaisoo day 2020, lots of pets, slight mentions of animal abuse :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22252141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamZYXs/pseuds/iamZYXs
Summary: Kyungsoo stutters when he’s anxious or upset. Jongin just thinks he’s cute.Alternatively: Kyungsoo has a lot of pets. uwu
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Series: Found and Loved And Kept [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633711
Comments: 39
Kudos: 157





	Loved and Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [r0tkappchen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/r0tkappchen/gifts).



> This spiraled from Kyungsoo has a lot of pets to this drama bomb. (It's not that bad I think)  
> Also, please adopt, don't shop!! The back stories of Kyungsoo's pets here are from real stories I hear. Please be kind. :((  
> Thank you to miss ai for squealing with me about kitties and kyungsoo. <3
> 
> I don't think I'll promote this on my twitter account so if you find this.. hehe hi please leave a comment. TuT
> 
> Also to my bestfriend who can be like a lost kitty sometimes: we too shall be found soon. UwU

Jongin stares at Kyungsoo, noting his redder than usual nose and the way he tries to drown himself in his rain jacket. It’s after class and they’re being paired up by Miss Kang in a report. Kyungsoo had looked a little relieved to see he was partnered with him, but he also looked uncomfortable and out of it while Ms. Kang was talking about the project. Jongin is a little bit concerned, considering he and Kyungsoo had always been.. friends.

They weren’t _close_ friends per se. They were just friends. Baekhyun, his loud mouth coursemate and apparently Kyungsoo’s childhood friend, had introduced him into their small group during one of their lunch breaks. The group had sort of just adopted Kyungsoo. Aside from Baekhyun, Kyungsoo remained kind of distant and wasn’t particularly close to anybody. He lets out a small laugh when someone cracks a joke, but he’d never really participate in conversation. He would eat lunch with them if they have the same breaks, but he’s the type you won’t even notice whether he’s there or not.

Kyungsoo was just.. there. A quiet presence when he is, and quite unnoticeable when he isn’t.

Jongin would be lying if he said he never found him cute or, at the very least, intriguing.

If he did try to get Kyungsoo to eat dinner with him, or go to the movies, (AKA ask him on a date), it’s not really anyone’s business. It’s not something he’s proud of either so he never really told anyone about it. He did find the smaller guy cute and asked him out a few times, but it was always met with a sorry head shake and a “I have to get my cat’s ears checked at the vet.” or “Someone needs to hand feed my kitten or he won’t eat.” By the time Jongin was told that “My dog gets very worried without me inside the house.”, he took that as a cue to leave the cute, small guy alone.

They never really talk after that. Kyungsoo still sits with them during lunch when his schedule lines up with theirs, but always says no in any hangouts scheduled after their usual classes. Jongin may or may not still harbor a secret crush (and maybe just a little bit bitterness) on the cute boy, but he had decided long ago not to do anything about it anymore.

Which brings him back to his current dilemma.

He and Kyungsoo are classmates in Asian Literature—a course he didn’t really have to take considering he’s majoring in business administration— but he was bored and wanted to take a random class just to fill up his units. It was one of the least taken classes held in the afternoon too, which was just what he wanted. Coincidentally, Kyungsoo is a foreign languages major and a huge book nerd (at least from what he sees when he joins them during lunch, always carrying a new novel each day) who needs to take this course as a requirement.

It also just happened that he was absent the whole first week of classes when their instructor had asked the whole class to partner up for a report, and Kyungsoo transferred classes apparently, leaving them to be partnered up. Miss Kang explained the objectives and requirements for their report before leaving them to talk in the gradually emptying classroom.

“How d-do you w-want to split up the w-work?” Kyungsoo blushes and looks down after asking him, probably getting self-conscious about his stutter. Kyungsoo did that too before, when they were just new acquaintances. As far as he knows (or as far as Baekhyun tells him), Kyungsoo only gets them with new people and when he’s upset. Did what happen between them so bad that Kyungsoo unconsciously got his stutter back around him?

He blinks his confusion away before answering. “Uhm. I’m actually okay with anything.”

He sees Kyungsoo take a deep breath like gathering courage to speak, before looking back at him and talking again. “I kn-know this i-is not r-really your m-major s-so m-maybe..” He sees Kyungsoo glance behind him before looking down, eyes looking red and pooling with tears. He turns behind him just to see a group of students not so casually lounging by the door, obviously eavesdropping and holding up their laughter.

He had heard from Baekhyun how this used to happen, but he didn’t think he’d witness it—in university, of all places—where people are supposedly educated and intelligent enough to know what’s right and wrong.

“Are you guys done?” He asks the group, irritated. A second passes without anyone answering. “I don’t think you’re friends with Kyungsoo, and I’d recognize you if you were mine, so I don’t think you have any reason to wait for any of us.”

He feels a hand hesitantly hold onto his arm, and he turns to see Kyungsoo looking at him, teary-eyed and slightly shaking his head.

He sighs. “I just really don’t like people eavesdropping on my conversations. Sorry.” He says softly.

He hears a small sniffle as a reply and he takes pity on the smaller guy. “I have classes ‘til later but I’ll be free by six. Would it be comfier to do it in your apartment? I can wait for you if your classes end later than mine.”

He gets a nod and a small grateful smile. Jongin thinks smiles are the only thing that suites Kyungsoo. “Six.”

“Okay. Just text me the address.”

~

Kyungsoo is glad his classes all finish before two. It gave him a head start at heading home to clean up his apartment and prepare snacks, getting ready for his first ever visitor. He thinks it is weird to only have someone to visit him now when he had moved in a year and a half ago—right when he started college—but he shrugs it off knowing he hasn’t exactly been a social person. If anyone would have visited him, he would have thought it would be Baekhyun, but his friend had been occupied with his full load course, and he spent most of his time now with his tall boyfriend. He did try and schedule visits, but Chanyeol and Baekhyun is practically attached at the hip ever since they started dating, and Kyungsoo suspects that Baekhyun is walking around egg shells trying not to make him uncomfortable by bringing Chanyeol with him to Kyungsoo’s place.

Now that he thinks about it though, maybe his apartment wouldn’t be the best place to fix up a report.

“No Tuna. You are not allowed on the coffee table for the next three hours. Please, I just wiped that down.” He says, grabbing the cat and placing him down on the floor. He doesn’t even know why he’s trying to talk to the poor cat when he adopted her deaf.

Tuna lets out a weird mewl, before scraping his little booties on the carpeted floor, trying to take them off. Kyungsoo picks her up again and leans her on his shoulder. “Tuna, please. Keep them on for at least an hour, hmm?” He says while scratching the cats head. Tuna sniffs him around the collar before letting out a small purr. He takes it as a promise to behave and sets the cat down.

He picks up the rag he uses to wipe the table down, but he wasn’t even halfway through when he sees Ben, his one-eyed pitbull, trying to take off the clothes he put on him. “Beeeen. Not you too.” Ben walks closer to him by practice, knowing when his name is called. “Please. I just want you guys to look good. A friend is coming to visit and I want to make a good impression.” Ben gives out a sad mixture of a growl and a huff before plopping down on his lap. Ben is probably his most protective pet, always wanting him close and waiting by the door for him every time he leaves. “I know. I’ll remove them before bed time. I promise.” He says, petting the dog on his head. He never really puts clothes on them, even when he takes the dogs for a walk. He just buys them clothes for special occasions like Christmas or Halloween, and even then he just takes pictures and takes them off.

But he wants to impress Jongin somehow. He had always been nice to him, asking him to eat dinner together and trying to include him in conversations even when his words get jumbled up around new people. He even jumps to defend him occasionally, like earlier. He really wants Jongin to like him enough to be a closer friend.

He sees his three other pets, Meokmul (a toy poodle), Ginger (a three legged cat), and Kitten (a kitten who doesn’t have name yet), all decked out with bow ties and booties, cuddling under the TV and it boosts his confidence a little. 3/5 are well behaved. That’s more than half. It would be fine.

Before he knows it, Ben and Tuna are both crowding the front door. Ben sniffs underneath the door before letting out a gruff sound. He takes that as a sign that Jongin is outside. The other three stays in front of him as he walks to the door as well.

With a whisper of “Behave.” to Ben and his small league, Kyungsoo opens the door without even letting Jongin finish his series of knocks.

“Hi.” He says excitedly, Tuna getting ahead of herself and immediately sniffing Jongin’s toes.

“Hey.” Jongin just blinks at him, looking confused, before looking down on his foot where Tuna is licking his shoes. Kyungsoo sees Jongin’s eyes move from Tuna to everyone else. Meokmul and Ginger are sat close to him, staring at Jongin while Kitten is busy trying to catch his own bandaged tail. Ben is right by Kyungsoo’s side, almost leaning into his leg.

Jongin looks like he’s taking time processing the bunch of weird animals by his feet and Kyungsoo suddenly remembers that people can actually be allergic of pets. He mentally chastises himself for not thinking of it earlier.

“You’re not a-allergic are y-you?” Kyungsoo asks, worrying his lip.

“N-No! Not at all. Just a little overwhelmed.” Jongin awkwardly smiles at him. “I brought food.”

“Oh, you d-didn’t have to! I cooked.” He lets Jongin inside, immediately toe-ing his shoes off by the doorway. The small band of animals follow Jongin, every single one curiously trying to sniff him. The cats especially don’t see a lot of new people, and the dogs had never encountered new humans in their small apartment.

The doorway leads directly to his decently-sized living room, consists of a three-seater couch, a small coffee table and a TV mounted on the wall. There’s a small hallway to the left, one side open leading to his small kitchen, and the other closed with a wall leading to his room. Kyungsoo had decided it would be less awkward for them to just do the report in his living room, and already took out all the things he thinks they would need early on.

“You c-can sit d-down on the c-couch.” He says, moving to place the food Jongin brought on the kitchen table.

He goes back to the living room, only to find his small family of pets all sitting on the floor a foot from Jongin. They were staring at him, looking like they’re trying to decode who the man is. Well, except for Kitten, who probably decided he likes Jongin, and is already cuddling his leg. Jongin is no better, also just awkwardly staring back at the dressed up animals.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to break the weird atmosphere now surrounding their living room, so maybe he can introduce his lined up pets? He’s got a memorized line for each of them back when he was volunteering at the animal shelter. He would introduce the dogs to those looking for new pets. He couldn’t mess this up. He had tons of practice. “Do you want to kn-know their names?”

Jongin looks up at him and smiles. “Sure.”

He smiles back and decides to start with the biggest. “This is Ben. He’s a p-pitbull. The shelter says h-he was left by his old owners o-on a random road. It t-took a while before he g-got rescued and they think a random mean guy p-poked his eye and it got i-infected and they had to r-remove it.” He says, already getting sad about it and unconsciously pouting. Ben had been through a lot, getting left behind by his owners and meeting mean people. “He g-gets really anxious when I take too l-long to come home.” He whispers.

“This one,” he says before picking up his orange cat. “is Ginger. She was b-brought to the shelter with this b-big cut on her front leg, and it was fractured too. She was limping. They had to t-take the leg o-off.” He puts a kiss on Ginger’s head, a bit sad, before letting her down again. "She c-can walk but she c-can't jump or climb anymore."

By then, Tuna had jumped on the couch and is back to smelling Jongin. “That one is Tuna. The shelter is not sure how o-old she is now. She’s d-deaf. They say it may be c-congenital. But she’s really sweet. She and Ginger are best friends. They really love Kitten too. He’s the one on your foot. I found him b-beside the trash b-bins down the road. I tried to wait if I see his m-mom come back, but a month p-passed and he w-was still alone.

“And this is Meokmul,” he says, petting the small black poodle on his head. “He’s the first one. Baekhyun g-gave him to me as a gift. So I don’t feel l-lonely.” He smiles softly, remembering how excited and happy he was when he got Meokmul. “I dressed them all up t-today since it’s their first time m-meeting a guest! Don’t you think they’re all c-cute?”

It takes him a while before he realized his visitor hasn’t said anything, so he looks up from Meokmul only to find Jongin staring at _him_.

Suddenly, he doesn’t feel so good. He’s aware he gets carried away a lot when talking about his small creatures, but he usually only does that with Baekhyun present. Maybe Jongin thinks animals in clothes are stupid. Maybe he doesn’t like animals. Maybe he thinks _he_ ’s stupid. “You t-think I’m w-weird, don’t you?” He says, gnawing his bottom lip.

Jongin blinks, his face going slightly red. “No! No, not at all. I just see you love them so much.” Jongin smiles. “It’s really.. nice.”

Kyungsoo smiles brightly back at him, his previous dilemma forgotten. “Y-Yes! Well, aside from Meokmul and Kitten, Ben and the others had a h-hard time finding a home.” He sees Ginger clawing at the couch so he helps her up. She immediately goes and sniffs Jongin, before faceplanting on his lap and trying to initiate a cuddle. “They look d-different and it s-scares people away. But t-they’re very loving when you c-care for them!”

Jongin lets Ginger sniff his hand again before tentatively petting her head. Kyungsoo can see her enjoying the attention and he feels his heart swell. “She likes you. It’s usually a while b-before she warms up to n-new people.”

Jongin looks up and smiles at him. “I’m glad then.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t say it but he is too.

~

Jongin’s first visit was followed by a lot more. Miss Kang had wanted the partners retained for the rest of the semester for all their projects, and Jongin couldn’t really be happier with the arrangement. Kyungsoo had become more open and chatty as they grew closer. He barely even stutters with him anymore, especially when they’re at his apartment.

It’s a Wednesday, which means Kyungsoo would be joining them for lunch. Jongin rushes to pack his belongings when the professor dismisses them, walking out of his building to wait for Kyungsoo outside his classroom. There had been one time their group all had a long break due to a faculty meeting, and they wanted to eat out for lunch. He had asked if Kyungsoo wanted to carpool with him and Kyungsoo didn’t know what his car had looked like, so Jongin had waited for him outside his classroom so they can go together. It was weird at first, the hallways getting filled with whispers especially when he is with Kyungsoo, but he just shrugs it off. He’s been waiting out for him since then. He knows it’s not really necessary, but he likes doing it anyway.

He enters Kyungsoo’s building and takes a left at the corner to get to his classroom. He smiles when he sees he’s just in time, the first person just exiting the room. Knowing Kyungsoo, he’d be the last to leave, so he stands by the door to not block it. Students still kind of whisper when they see him now, but he attributes that to the small fandom he knows he accumulated when he joined the university wide dance troupe.

Kyungsoo gets out of the classroom eventually, his whole face lighting up when he sees him waiting outside. “Why are you here?”

“You’re asking that like I don’t do this everyday.” He says, moving to ruffle Kyungsoo’s hair. He didn’t think Kyungsoo’s smile would get brighter, but it did. Jongin feels his heart flutter.

They go to the cafeteria to find Baekhyun and Jongdae already seated. Kyungsoo moves to sit in front of Baekhyun, Jongin following to drop his bag in the seat beside him. Chanyeol arrives not even 5 seconds later, holding a tray with Baekhyun and Jongdae’s meal.

“Oh hey! It took you guys a while so we already ordered.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just order for Kyungsoo and me.” Kyungsoo was about to stand up as well to get their meals, so he shakes his head at him. “I’ll get yours, what do you want?”

Kyungsoo pouts at him. He’s been doing this the whole of last month as well, and he probably realized by now that he wouldn’t budge. He thinks for a while before answering. “Can I get a yogurt and the fruit cup p-please?”

“Okay, do you want anything else?” He doesn’t want to tell Kyungsoo what to eat, but he had noticed ever since that his meals usually consist of not even half of what _he_ needs to not be hungry. No wonder Kyungsoo looks a bit thin.

The smaller one bites his lip as he thinks about it. “How about a sandwich?” Jongin suggests.

Kyungsoo pouts a bit, shaking his head. “I can’t finish e-everything.”

“We can share one. I’ll get two and fries since I’m extra hungry.” Kyungsoo nods happily so he moves to get in line, Baekhyun catching up to him before he even gets to the line for the sandwiches.

“So hey,” Baekhyun says, casually trying to put an arm around his shoulder and failing to reach so he settles for a pat on his arm.

“Hey.” He says, kind of weirded out and at the same time curious on what he has to say. “What’s up?”

Baekhyun bites his lip before shrugging. “Well, I just noticed how you and Kyungsoo got a lot closer. He looks like he’s enjoying your company a lot.”

He tries to control his smile thinking about the last month. “Yeah. I enjoy being with him a lot too.”

Baekhyun looks hesitant before speaking again. “You’re not just doing this because you’re a good person and you feel bad for him, right?”

His eyebrows raise a bit, urging Baekhyun to clarify. “Look, I know his family situation and stuff is complicated and a bit sad, but I hope you’re not spending time with him just because you feel bad for him. I think Kyungsoo doesn’t know it yet but I feel like he’s already hoping this would lead to something more and I wouldn’t like for him to get hurt.”

The whole statement just gave him even more confusion. “Wait. Okay, first of all, what family situation are you talking about? And then also explain the rest cos I’m really confused here.”

Baekhyun blinks up at him, looking surprised. “You haven’t heard.”

“Heard what?”

Baekhyun stared longer. “You got off your family vacation one week after classes started. You were absent for a week.” Baekhyun just looks more like he’s talking to himself now than him, but he nods anyway, hoping for any elaboration.

“And?” he says, when Baekhyun doesn’t say anything.

Baekhyun just continued on blinking up at him. “You like Kyungsoo, right? Like _like_ like?”

Jongin felt a bit of heat crawling up his face and kind of looks away, embarrassed. He doesn’t see the need to hide it though, so he answers honestly. “Yes.”

Baekhyun pats him at the back twice, smiling widely. “Nice, okay. I’ll leave you alone now.”

Baekhyun walks right back to their table, leaving him a little bit more confused and also kind of worried.

~

Kyungsoo is feeding Kitten a treat after giving him a bath. He accidentally left his baby powder container open on the table and Tuna dropped the whole thing on the floor. Kitten was the poor casualty, Kyungsoo coming home to a powder white sneezy kitten instead of a black one.

“My mom will be visiting me this weekend! I asked her to bring Jjingo and Jjangga too. Do you think Ben and Meokmul will enjoy the playmates?” Jongin asks him.

Jongin is on the other side of the coffee table, giving Ben some belly rubs while Meokmul patiently waits for her turn beside him. Ben had gotten used to Jongin pretty quickly and began looking for his cuddles and attention. Kyungsoo thinks he wants more days like this.

“They need a while to get used to them, Ben used to be really scared of others but he adjusted well to Meokmul since she’s very calm.” Kyungsoo shares.

Jongin pouts a bit. “What should I do? My two dogs are too energetic. I hope they don’t scare yours away.”

He lets out a small laugh. “It should be fine. The worst that could happen is poor Ben gets cornered on the wall.”

Jongin looks up from petting Ben to smile at him. “My mom wants to meet you too.”

Kyungsoo feels the smile slip off his lips. “Oh.”

“Would that make you uncomfortable?” Jongin says, catching on to his expression.

“No! N-Not like th-that. Just..” Kyungsoo looks back down just to see Kitten licking his hand instead of the treat he’s holding, then rubbing his head on Kyungsoo’s hand. “What if she h-hates me?”

Jongin nudges his foot from under the table. “Hey. I’ve been telling her about you and all she’s told me is how thankful she is that you even tolerate me.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo stares back at him, looking hopeful. He’s bad at meeting new people, not to mention he doesn’t really know how to act around families. Only Baekhyun’s mom had treated him well, and she had moved to the countryside when they turned 12.

“Of course. She’s really thankful you cook for me during dinner too by the way. I would die early because of takeouts if it weren’t for you.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but smile. “You always buy my lunch, so we’re even.”

Jongin fakes a gasp. “You mean you won’t cook me food if I don’t buy you lunch? And I thought you were doing it out of love!” He says, dramatically clutching his chest.

Kyungsoo turns back to Kitten, trying to hide his blush, because at this point he thinks the last statement is not far from the truth.

It was quiet for a moment before Jongin speaks again.

“Can I ask you something?”

Kyungsoo nods, now busy petting Kitten. He’s still a little flustered and he can feel Jongin still looking at him, so he doesn’t dare look back.

“I’ve told you a lot about myself now, like my childhood, my sisters, my parents. But you haven’t really told me anything about yours yet.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but look back now, and he can see Jongin’s gentle expression staring back at him. “I.. what do you want to kn-know?”

Jongin takes a pause, looking like he doesn’t know how to phrase the next words. “Well, I was with Baekhyun the other day, and he mentioned something about it being complicated? I think he assumed I know something about it, but I don’t. And I just realized that aside from Meokmul and Ben and your favorite little creatures—which I all love equally, by the way—you haven’t really told me anything about yourself yet.”

“O-Oh.” Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, not really knowing what to say. He doesn’t like talking about it. He doesn’t like talking about himself. He doesn’t think he even liked talking before Jongin.

“If it will be hard for you to tell me, I understand.” Jongin smiles and gently pats Kitten who’s still on the table between them. “You can tell me some other time.”

And suddenly Kyungsoo is overwhelmed about how Jongin is good and kind and makes him feel warm and now Kyungsoo really wants to tell him.

So he says so. “I want to t-tell you.”

Even Jongin looked a bit surprised from what he said. “It’s okay. You don’t have to today. I can just help you cook dinner and we’ll watch a movie.”

He nods, already feeling kind of heavy with lots of feelings he really wants to let out. “B-But I really w-want to t-tell you.”

Jongin smiles at him before moving to sit beside him, Meokmul and Ben already ahead of him as if feeling the change in his mood. Jongin holds out his hand, “Do you want it? For like, extra special energy?”

He smiles a bit and nods and holds the hand, already thinking about where to begin.

~

“Well.. D-Do you know Professor Soonyoung Doh?” Jongin nods. The man is the Department Head for Business Administration. He was also under one of his classes during his first year. “He’s my d-dad.”

Jongin’ feels his forehead scrunch. He knows the man has another child taking up a business course—a senior named Hyunjoong who is an asshole but was popular for, well, being a professor’s son. He had always thought Kyungsoo was an only child, hearing from Baekhyun how he always spends his time alone. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything else for a while so he squeezes his hand, not wanting to pressure Kyungsoo to say anymore than he can. Kyungsoo shakes his head.

“I-I’m not really his s-son though. I’m n-not like Hyunjoong-hyung. M-My m-mom.. she was his m-mistress for a while.” Jongin sees the tears starting to pool in his eyes but Kyungsoo continues.

“And then she got p-pregnant and there was Seungsoo-hyung. And it was okay. And then she h-had m-me. I was s-sick a lot but Mom took c-care of me.” Kyungsoo smiles sadly. “I grew up seeing D-Dad visit a l-lot too you know? I thought we were a n-normal family, except my dad d-doesn’t stay at home at n-night.” Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, like what he would be saying next was making it hard to. “And then Hyunjoong-hyung’s m-mom found out, and suddenly my mom was p-packing everything in her b-bags. And she told me we’d go to D-Dad’s house, b-but she..” Tears start spilling on Kyungsoo’s cheeks all at once and Jongin moves his hands so he can wipe them all off. Kyungsoo start to sob by then, and all Jongin can do is put his arms around the smaller, regretting bringing up the topic in the first place.

“It’s okay, hm? You don’t have to say more.” He says, kissing his temples and rubbing his back in circles.

He feels Kyungsoo shake his head. “She l-left m-me Jongin.” Kyungsoo manages to say in between sobs. “It was r-raining and it w-was d-dark, and we were just in f-front of the house g-gates. And she p-put me in a r-rain jacket and t-told me to w-wait outside because d-dad will come and g-get me. And I w-was asking if S-Seungsoo-hyung could wait with m-me because it was really c-cold and there was the th-thunder and I was so s-scared. And Seungsoo-hyung was l-looking at me all s-sad. But she told me it’s o-okay and that she’ll c-come back. But she d-didn’t.”

Jongin pulls the still sobbing Kyungsoo onto his lap, wrapping him tightly inside his arms.

“And D-Dad said I wasn’t supposed to b-be there. And he kept a-asking me where mom w-went but I d-don’t know. And everybody h-hated me. A-All of the uncles and a-aunties glared at m-me. Everyone laughs at m-me when I s-stutter. Hyunjoong-hyung’s m-mom hated seeing m-me so m-much they don’t let me l-leave my r-room. And Dad had to m-make me move to my Grampa’s and G-Granma’s house and they h-hated me a lot too.”

“Shhh.. Kyungsoo, baby, I’m so sorry.” Jongin doesn’t know what to do with himself at this point. Kyungsoo is shaking in his arms, breathing rapidly and uneven. He rains kisses on the side of the smaller boy’s head, really hating himself for making Kyungsoo cry.

“Why d-does everybody h-hate m-me? I-I tried t-to give them l-love.”

Jonging felt his heart break. “That’s not true. We love you so much, Soo. Those people, they don’t deserve you.” He cuddles him close, Kyungsoo’s head on his shoulder with him sitting sideways on his lap. He just wants to keep Kyungsoo between his arms and protect him forever and never let him get hurt.

Kyungsoo rubs his face on his shoulder, silent hiccups racking his small frame. Jongin runs his hand through Kyungsoo’s hair before giving his head a kiss.

Soon enough, Kyungsoo falls asleep in his arms, with all their little creatures lying as close as they can to Kyungsoo.

~

Jongin glances at the doors everytime he sees someone enters. Their dance troupe had been practicing for their showcase for about a month now, and he finally managed to convince Kyungsoo to come and watch while they practice. He should have arrived with Baekhyun 30 minutes ago, but both were still nowhere to be found.

“Alright, take five.” He hears Yixing, a senior majoring in economics, say. He’s the one leading the choreography for this song. He moves to go check his phone and take a drink, but Yixing catches up to him and pats his back twice.

“You seem distracted. What’s up?” He asks casually.

“Nothing. I’m just waiting up for Kyungsoo to show up. He says he’s gonna watch practice.”

“Ooooh the cute Doh.” Yixing says, grabbing their water bottles from the floor and offering him his.

“Well, yeah.” He side eyes Yixing, wondering why he knows Kyungsoo.

“Don’t look at me like that bro. I have no plans of stealing your cute guy from you.” Yixing says before taking gulps of water.

He laughs and takes a sip out of his bottle. “How are you? I heard the research paper making is a pain in the butt for the seniors.”

Yixing almost spits his water. “Man, don’t bring that up. It’s so bad it gives me nightmares.”

Jongin laughs at his friend’s expression, the man looking like he got pecked by chickens. Yixing’s scared of chickens.

“No, seriously. I submitted like, 10 topic proposals before Professor Doh approved mine. And just when I’m already starting to write the methods and stuff, there’s this rumor that he’s leaving? How am I even going to finish that thing without an advisor?”

Jongin blinks back at Yixing, not expecting what he said. “Wait, Professor Doh is leaving?”

“Well yeah, that’s what the rumor says anyways. I can’t blame him to be honest, with all the gossip when the semester just started. Hyunjoong is an asshole.” Yixing says, shaking his head.

“What gossip?” He asks again.

Yixing blinks at him before his mouth formed an o. “Oh. You weren’t here the first week when the semester started.”

“Yeah. This is the second time I had to clarify that.” He says, already kind of annoyed since this is also how Baekhyun reacted the last time and he still feels like he’s missing something important.

Yixing clears his throat, looking like he’s thinking about it before saying something. “I’m not sure I’m the right person to hear this from.”

He lets out an annoyed whine. “Hyung.”

“Fine. Let me ask this first. Has Kyungsoo told you about his family?”

He scrunches his forehead, weirded out. How come Yixing knows? “Yes. Why do you even know that?”

Yixing scratches the back of his neck. “Well.. I heard from my roommate that at the start of classes, Kyungsoo and Hyunjoong got enrolled to the same class. I think it was French or something. Anyway, Hyunjoong threw a huge tantrum when he saw Kyungsoo in the same room. After that he started shouting and basically aired the whole of the Doh’s dirty laundry.” Jongin felt his jaw drop slightly. What the fuck? “Of course Hyunjoong won’t get the butt of it. He made sure everyone knows he’s the legal son. Not to mention he’s kind of a known senior too. But your cute Doh wasn’t as lucky. I heard he had to take the whole week off and then transfer classes. Prof. Doh got a lot of heat about it too.” Yixing takes another sip from his bottle. He pats his back when he notices him staring at his bottle. “You okay?”

Jongin nods after a few seconds, taking it all in. Kyungsoo must’ve been so scared going to class. No wonder he looked like a lost sad puppy when they saw each other.

His phone rings from his bag before he can even reply in words and he takes the phone out to find Baekhyun calling. Yixing nods and moves to leave him with his business. “Hey, where are you guys?” he asks as soon as he picks up.

“We’re at the infirmary because Kyungsoo sprained his leg because apparently he doesn’t know how to listen to me when I tell him—“

“Baek! Give me the phone!”

“To wait for me outside his building and went to my building anyways.”

“Baek!!”

“Seriously Kyungsoo I told you the mean bad ugly bitches from the business department either have a crush on Hyunjoong or Jongin why the fuck would you think of going there alone—“

“Baek!”

He hears the phone getting grabbed by someone else, the background noise still filled with Baekhyun lecturing Kyungsoo. “Hey Jongin, this is Chanyeol. We’re at the infirmary close to your building. Kyungsoo’s all bandaged up now and the nurse said it’s nothing serious, so you don’t have to worry much.”

He sighs a bit, worried and feeling guilty. “What happened?”

“Uhm, Kyungsoo says he tripped and fell down the five steps of stairs going up your building but Baekhyun says he saw a bunch of people bumping up to him on purpose to make him fall.”

His hand tightens against his phone, mad and worried because how can anyone do that to his Kyungsoo, who’s nothing but small and cute and good?

“We’ll take him home now if that’s okay.” He hears Chanyeol say, but he hears a loud “No!” in the background before he can even say anything.

“Can I talk to Kyungsoo first please?” He tells Chanyeol. He gets an immediate sure and Kyungsoo on the other side of the line in no time.

“H-Hey. I’m s-sorry we’ll take a while, b-but I’ll be there!” Kyungsoo says right when he receives the phone.

“Hey, no, it’s okay. I’m going to ask Yixing and the others to let me go early for now since I got this part down already anyways. I’ll go there now.”

“B-But I promise you I’d g-go watch.” He can hear Kyungsoo’s pout from here, and it kind of makes him smile.

“It’s okay. I’d rather you watch the showcase for the first time anyways so you can get surprised at how cool I am.”

He hears a small laugh before Kyungsoo goes quiet.

“Are you okay?” he asks, still worried.

“Yeah. Don’t listen to Baek. He’s o-overreacting.” He hears Baekhyun’s aggravated “Hey!” in the background.

“Okay. I’ll be there in ten.” He says before hanging up the phone. He tells Yixing and the others he’s going ahead because of an emergency before running to the clinic without changing.

~

Kyungsoo couldn’t be more thankful his dad is more than willing to pay for a decent apartment with an elevator. His unit is just in the fifth floor, but he can’t imagine using the stairs when he has a cast on his foot.

Jongin had headed to the clinic straight from practice and had insisted to take him home. Baekhyun and Chanyeol wanted to come with too, but Chanyeol apparently still had band practice to go to and Baekhyun decided to leave him alone with his “loverboy” with a little wiggle of his eyebrows. He wanted to smack him but he couldn’t reach.

He enters the apartment with Jongin’s help, and then moves to sit down on the couch. All their little creatures are following their movements, with Ben and Meokmul wagging their tails more excitedly after seeing Jongin.

“I think they like you more than me now.” He says, wanting to act like he’s upset about it but failing to stop the smile on his face.

“That’s not true. They just missed me cos it’s been three days.” Jongin says, petting both of them before crashing down beside him on the couch. Jongin had been too busy with practice and course work that Kyungsoo insisted he doesn’t have to come to his apartment all the time. Meokmul jumps immediately on Jongin’s lap, Ben grunting because Meokmul got there first.

Tuna also leaps onto Jongin’s side rubbing his head on his arm. Ginger claws the side of the couch, wanting to go up there too so Kyungsoo leans down to give her a hand. Kitten cuddles close to Kyungsoo’s lap too, looking for affection.

Jongin laughs seeing the whole scene, with poor Ben left on their feet wanting attention too but he doesn’t know where to fit on the couch anymore.

“Some family we got here huh?” Jongin says, rubbing Ben’s sides with his legs.

Kyungsoo’s heart leaps a bit at the statement.

“How were you able to give them all attention before me? I’ve never wanted to have more hands except now. I didn’t even know cats can be this clingy.”

Kyungsoo laughs, going back to petting Kitten. He rubs his small paws, kitten enjoying the attention. “Hmm.” He says when he remembers that kitten deosn’t even have a decent name yet.

“What hmm?”Jongin asks.

“Well.. I just realized we don’t have a proper name for Kitten yet.”

“Kitten is a unique name in my opinion.” Jongin says, smiling at him.

“Nooo.” Kyungsoo knows it sounded like a whine but he couldn’t help it. “You wouldn’t name your son “Son”, would you? Cos if yes then I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Jongin just laughs at him. “So kitten’s officially _our_ son now, hmm?”

Kyungsoo feels his cheeks warm, and he decides not to reply.

“You’re so cute when you blush.” Jongin says, which makes him blush harder.

A comfortable silence fills them before Jongin speaks again.

“You okay?” Jongin asks again.

“Yes. That’s like the fifth time you asked you know.” Kyungsoo says without any heat. Being asked is nice. The sound of Jongin caring is nice.

“Cos I’m worried.” Jongin says softly, looking at him before brushing his fingers against Kyungsoo’s slightly long hair. Sometimes Kyungsoo feels like Jongin treats him like he does his pets, giving him pats and cuddles. Not that he’s complaining of course. It was nice. “Was Baekhyun telling the truth? Are people being mean to you on purpose?” Jongin asks, sounding sad and serious.

Kyungsoo bites his lip, not really knowing how to answer it. “It’s not that bad.” He says instead.

“So it happens?” Jongin clarifies, and Kyungsoo stays quiet.

Jongin puts his arm around Kyungsoo and pulls him closer. Kyungsoo leans his head a bit on Jongin’s shoulder almost automatically, loving this kind of cuddles.

“What do they do? Do they really bump to you on purpose?” Jongin sounds upset, but Kyungsoo didn’t really want to lie.

“It’s really not that bad.. usually it’s j-just the s-staring and whispers. The one who b-bumped onto me.. I don’t think she expected I’d f-fall because of it.”

He feels Jongin kiss the side of his head then rub his arm. “I’m sorry. I should have noticed. Tell me if it happens again okay?”

“It’s not your fault people are mean.” He says looking back at Jongin, because he feels bad when Jongin does.

“I know. But I want to protect you from mean people and I should do a better job at it.” Jongin tells him, still looking upset.

Kyungsoo giggles.

“Why? What’s funny?”

“Sorry. Kitten is licking my toes. It tickles.” Jongin looks down and lets out a laugh too. They didn’t even notice when he leapt down the couch.

“He’s so small.” Jongin says.

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo pauses. “Maybe that should be his name?” Kyungsoo looks like he’s thinking about it.

“What?”

“Jag-eun.”

“Jag-eun. I think suits him.”

They smile down at the small kitten, now rolling on the floor. Their little Jag-eun.

“I think I’d cry if he grows bigger.” Jongin says.

~

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, looking around the apartment making sure everything looks neat and in order. He got a surprising call from his dad yesterday, wanting to meet him and visit his apartment. Kyungsoo is all excited and just a bit nervous. His dad hasn’t even been to his apartment before. The man had asked Kyungsoo to look for apartments before he even turned eighteen and when Kyungsoo told him he found one in time for college, his father just checked the place online before approving his choice and paying for it.

He thinks what he did when Jongin came over worked well, so he dresses up his small creatures again and tells them to behave. When he sees everything seem to be in place, he finally sits back down on the couch and checks his phone in case his dad had left any messages. Instead, there’s one from Jongin telling him again that he’s sorry he can’t visit today because practice decided to extend very late. Kyungsoo had not told him about his dad coming over yet since he didn’t see Jongin much during lunch, the younger cramming a paper that was due that afternoon.

Someone knocks on the front door and he stands up straight, slightly panicking and checking his small creatures. They’re lined up perfectly well facing the door now.

“Okay. We got this. Behave okay.” He says more to himself than his beloved pets.

He opens the door and smiles. He had imagined how this would go. He would let him in, offer him food, tell him about his pets like he did with Jongin. This would be okay. “Good afternoon, d-dad.”

Kyungsoo sees it when his dad blinks away the slight disappointment when he stuttered. It’s okay, Kyungsoo, he tells himself. It’s still early and his dad just got here. Plenty of time to redeem himself.

“Hey bud. We haven’t talked for a while.” His father says, awkwardly trying to ruffle his hair. Kyungsoo felt his heart warm up a bit. His dad used to do that a lot too when he visits them and their mother. “I brought you dinner.” He says, giving Kyungsoo a plastic bag containing takeouts.

“You shouldn’t have, D-Dad. I c-cooked dinner for u-us.” He says, smiling. He hasn’t had the chance to cook for his dad before, so he made sure to impress by trying to copy what his mom used to make every time his dad was over. It took him a while, but the outcome he got was a success, almost exactly like how his mom used to make them. He hopes his dad likes it.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have.” His dad says slowly, looking a bit guilty. “I wasn’t planning to stay for dinner, I should’ve told you that I suppose.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo feels heaviness grow inside his chest, but he tries to hide his disappointment by faking a smile. He feels the part of his palm that got a blister. It’s fine, he says. It’s just three PM anyways. They have time.

Kyungsoo lets his dad inside, and he sees his surprised expression upon seeing the little creatures dressed and lined up. “Oh d-dad! These are m-my pets. You kn-know Meokmul r-right? The others, I a-adopted them from the sh-shelter. They’re really w-well behaved.”

He looks back at his dad to see him staring at the animals, concern and confusion marring his features.

Kyungsoo feels his confidence deflate little by little, but he tries really hard to not let it get to him. “D-Do you w-want to know their n-names?”

His dad looked hesitant before nodding, looking at him with his sad eyes, the dismayed tilt of his brow never disappearing.

“Um, w-well,” Kyungsoo feels himself panic, wanting to start crying, but he tries to push it down. He doesn’t know why his dad always looks at him like he’s disappointed or sad that he turned out the way he is. He never says it but Kyungsoo knows, _feels_ , that deep inside, his father just does everything for him out of responsibility and pity. He swallows it down. “Th-This is Ben. And this is G-Ginger. And th-this is Tuna. And the k-kitten is Jag-eun. And, well, y-you know Meokmul already.” He continues anyway, scrapping his whole monologue for each one of his pets and deciding to keep it short. He doesn’t want to give more reason for his dad to pity him.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” His dad hesitantly says, looking at the animals and awkwardly trying to play along.

Kyungsoo offers him a sad smile, because atleast, he’s _trying_. And he’s there now. Kyungsoo just wants to make the best of it.

They sit down on the couch, an uncomfortable silence filling up the room. Jag-eun jumps on Kyungsoo’s lap and he plays with him a little. Kyungsoo was about to ask his dad if he wanted anything to drink or snack on, when his dad talked.

“Kyungsoo. I actually have to tell you something.”

Kyungsoo turns to his dad while Jag-eun is now cuddling his hand comfortably.

His dad looked hesitant, looking like he’s not sure how to open the topic. “I’m sorry. For what happened during the start of the semester. Hyunjoong is just a really troubled child.”

Kyungsoo just nods silently and goes back to petting Jag-eun. He’s already heard that. His dad had called him a day after it happened and said the same thing.

“The thing is,” his dad pauses for quite a while and Kyungsoo found himself looking at him again. “since the whole thing blew up, the university felt like it would be best if I resign.”

Kyungsoo just blinks up at his father, not really knowing how to react.

“I’m resigning, Kyungsoo. And Helena thinks it’s best if the family moves away from all the mess.”

Kyungsoo stays silent, trying to digest what was just said. Helena, his father’s _wife_ , thinks the best for the family is to stay away from the mess.

If there’s a thing Kyungsoo learned from his stay at his father’s house, it’s that their _family_ doesn’t include Kyungsoo. So what he’s father is trying to say is that _they—his father, Helena and Hyunjoong—_ are moving away from the _mess_.

The mess being _him_.

“You’re l-leaving m-me?” Kyungsoo hates that he still stuttered when it was just three words. He hates that his voice broke before he even finished the sentence. He hates that no matter how absent his father had been while he was growing up, him leaving now still _hurts_.

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo. I really am.” The man’s voice cracks too, but instead of making Kyungsoo feel better, it just made him feel worse. “I have been trying to correct my mistakes for the past fifteen years and I have tried everything, but this is the best I can come up with.”

Kyungsoo feels tears on his face but he doesn’t know how to reply, or act or _feel_. He’s been called a lot of names by cousins and classmates and bullies, but being referred to as a mess and a mistake by his own _Dad_ must be a record.

“Kyungsoo, son. I love you, believe me—“ His dad says, trying to reach out to him, but he speaks before he can.

“Mom used to t-tell me that too. A lot. Before s-she _left_.”

His dad looked frozen, not able to continue what he was about to say.

“S-So if love means you’re l-leaving, then I don’t w-want that love anymore.”

Kyungsoo thinks he stood up and told his dad to lock up when he leaves, but he’s not entirely sure. He just found himself lying down inside his own room, hearing it when his dad closed the door. Ben and Meokmul jumps up the bed, cuddling close to him. He feels Jag-eun beside his face as well, before he settles down and cuddles to his neck. His eyes fill again with tears but he does not feeling a single thing.

~

Professor Doh resigning was a hot topic, and it had Jongin rushing to Kyungsoo’s apartment. He had been trying to contact the younger male since yesterday afternoon, but he had received no replies or calls. He had knocked on his apartment door, even heard Ben and Meokmul barking at him from the other side, but no one had opened the door. By his 10th series of knocks, the person owning the neighboring unit had already lectured him about respecting privacy and the person’s will to not talk to people. He leaves the apartment door alone, but not before trying to call another time and a short text.

_To: KyungsOwO_

_From: Jongnini_

_Please. Just send me a proof that you’re okay and breathing. I won’t bother you. Please, I’m just worried._

Kyungsoo had replied with a picture of Ben, looking worriedly at the camera (or maybe it’s just Jongin), but that was enough. They had spent a whole week with that arrangement, Kyungsoo sends proof he’s alive and Jongin stops flooding him with messages. Baekhyun had tried and get inside the apartment too, but he nearly had the neighbors call the police on him for being too loud and refusing to leave. Still no Kyungsoo showed up at the door.

“I can’t believe Kyungsoo can be this cold hearted towards his _best friend_. I nearly got a mug shot in my record. A MUGSHOT!!” Baekhyun says at their lunch table, looking flustered but also very very worried. Chanyeol puts his arm around his boyfriend, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, Jongin remains staring at his phone. Kyungsoo still hasn’t sent him anything. Maybe Kyungsoo will reply with words today. Maybe he’ll want to meet.

“You okay?” Jongdae asks him softly from the other side of the table.

“Yeah.”

“You want his door password?” Jongdae asks.

“What?”

“What??”

“WHAT?”

Jongdae just smiles at the three idiots on the table.

“You have the fuckin password and you decide to tell me just now whEN I ALMOST GOT JAILED?” They could almost see the smoke rising from Baekhyun’s head.

“Well, no one asked. He gave it to me in case he needs notes or paracetamol or cat food and stuff.”

“WHY DIDN’T HE GIVE IT TO ME?? I’M HIS BESTFRIEND.”

“He probably knows you’ll pop up out of nowhere and annoy him to no end.”

“Wait, why are you only telling us now??” Chanyeol asks.

“Well, one week was enough for Kyungsoo I think. I also think my Jongbro here is suffering too much staring at his poor phone so..” Jongdae shrugs.

“Can I have it?” Jongin says. Fuck privacy. Kyungsoo still hasn’t texted for the day and it’s already lunch time. He’s worried sick and he wants to know if Kyungsoo is okay. Maybe it’s time to go see for himself.

~

He walks to Kyungsoo’s apartment from school, the slight drizzle making him thankful he’s wearing his jacket. He entered the building with ease, the guard already recognizing his face from his previous visits. He grew more nervous as he arrived closer, putting in the pass key to Kyungsoo’s door after knocking three times with no answer. He let himself in while knocking, alerting the boy of his presence to not startle him, just in case. But all he found was Ben and Meokmul trying to climb him while barking, and a distraught Tuna and Ginger meowing to no end.

“Hey, hey, it’s just me. What’s wrong?” He asks, closing the door immediately in case they suddenly run outside. He pets each a bit, figuring maybe Kyungsoo is inside his room or maybe the restroom.

He waits outside for a while, but no sound came from the restroom or from the bedroom, so he decides to knock on the bedroom first.

“Kyungsoo? Are you in there?” He says, with no answer. “I know you probably wouldn’t like me just barging in, but you haven’t texted me anything and I’m really worried.” No one still replied, so he tries knocking again, growing even more worried by the second. “Kyungsoo? Please, I just want to know if you’re alright.” He knocks again, but with no reply, so he opens the door.

Only to find it empty.

“Kyungsoo?” He says again, just in case he was in a corner not visible to Jongin. No answer.

He starts to walk around the room, checking every corner—the study table, the closet, under the bed. Kyungsoo’s room is exactly as it was from what he sees during their video calls at night, only with the bed a little messy.

“Where is he?” he mumbles to himself, leaving the bedroom and knocking on the bathroom. When there was no answer, he tries opening it. But still no Kyungsoo.

“Fuck, Kyungsoo, where are you?” He grabs his phone from his pocket, calling Kyungsoo’s phone, but he just hears it ringing from inside his room.

He calls Baekhyun. “He’s not here.” He says as soon as the guy picks up. Baekhyun had an extra class in the afternoon and had let him come alone, but now he’s not really sure what to do.

“What do you mean he’s not there?”

“He’s not here! I checked the whole house, it’s empty.” He looks around the room again and sees their creatures still looking troubled, the two cats sitting in attention and the two dogs walking in circles and barking. “The only ones here are Ben and Meokmul and Tuna and Ginger.” He looks around the room again. “Wait. Where’s Jag-eun?”

“What do you mean where’s Jag-eun? Is Kyungsoo missing or is Jag-eun missing?!” Baekhyun is borderline yelling on the other side of the line while he looks around the apartment again trying to find the kitten. Jag-eun may be small, but the apartment is not that big for him not to be seen immediately. Besides, the kitten is a meow fest and always comes for him before he can even completely enter the door.

“They’re both not here!!” He says after finishing to look around and still not finding the small cat.

“I’ll cut this period and text Chanyeol. We’ll walk around the uni to look.”

“Okay. Do you have any idea where Kyungsoo might have gone?”

“We only hangout at my place and he’s not the type to spend time outdoors.” Baekhyun says, starting to sound guilty.

“It’s fine. We’ll find him soon.” He says, before hanging up and rushing to the door.

“Stay here. Behave and wait. Okay?” He tells the bunch of animals at his feet before going out and making sure to close the door. He lets out another curse when he sees the drizzle had escalated into full on rain. He can only hope Kyungsoo has an umbrella, wherever he may be. He opens his own before heading out.

~

Jongin breaths heavily, eyes scanning every road and alley for Kyungsoo. He’s been going around the area for the past twenty minutes, but still no Kyungsoo or Jag-eun. The rain had gotten harder as well to the point that he had gotten wet even with his umbrella open, the only thing keeping him dry is his rain jacket. He’s worried sick at this point, with no calls from Baekhyun and Chanyeol either.

He turns down a corner and he sees the familiar back of a small man walking down the road, with no umbrella and shivering from the cold.

“Kyungsoo!!” He yells, before he even got closer. The man doesn’t turn to look back at him so he runs faster, holding the man by the arm when he reaches him.

Kyungsoo tries to shrug his hand off weakly, not even bothering to look at him. He drops the umbrella he’s holding to grab Kyungsoo’s other hand and force the man to look at him. “Hey, hey, it’s just me.” He says, trying to control his voice and not scare him off.

Kyungsoo still fights, trying to shrug him off weakly, all the while shivering and wet from the rain. “Jag-eun. I n-need to find Jag-eun.” Kyungsoo mumbles.

Jongin hugs the trembling male to his chest, trying to get him to warm up. “It’s okay, we’ll find him,”

“He can’t l-leave me too.” Kyungsoo whispers before staring up at Jongin with pleading eyes.

Jongin’s heart breaks looking at Kyungsoo, already trembling in his arms without even a thin coat on. Jongin didn’t think Kyungsoo could get even thinner, but he did. There are dark bags under his eyes too, his teeth chattering with his whole body drenched from head to toe.

“Don’t worry, okay?” he says, hugging the smaller man tightly and rubbing his arms and back to give him a bit of warmth. “I’ll help you find him.” He releases Kyungsoo when he feels his small nod. He hurriedly takes off his jacket and puts it on Kyungsoo, zipping it all the way up. Kyungsoo surprisingly didn’t protest, although it might have to do with him being more worried about the kitten and being terribly weak from the cold.

Jongin finds himself taking advantage of his weakness, carrying Kyungsoo back to his apartment.

“Where are we going? You s-said we’ll find Jag-eun!” Kyungsoo cries silently, trying to get away from his hold, but he’s too weak for it to amount to anything.

“I’ll take you home to get you warm first. And you’re going to stay there with Baekhyun while me and Chanyeol go look for him.” He says, already sure Kyungsoo is going to catch a cold from this. He’s pretty sure he is too, but he needs to find Jag-eun. He doesn’t mind the cold.

“I want to look for Jag-eun too,” Kyungsoo whimpers.

Jongin doesn’t even reply, continuing their walk back to the apartment. He opens the door and was met by their creatures, lined up neatly by the door and staring at them. He closes the door and heads straight to the bathroom, the creatures following them. Kyungsoo needs a hot shower and a change of clothes.

“I want to l-look for Jag-eun too.” Kyungsoo says again softly once he had put him down to sit on the toilet cover, the smaller man looking so fragile and small.

“I know, but I’ll look for him until you’re warm enough okay? Take a shower so I can call Baekhyun. Then I’ll leave to look for him again.” Jongin runs his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair, before moving to wipe the silent tears leaking from Kyungsoo’s eyes. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.” He leaves a kiss on Kyungsoo’s forehead before standing up. He sets the shower heater and makes sure its warm enough before getting Kyungsoo. “Go shower. I’ll get you fresh clothes.”

He closes the door and gets Kyungsoo’s things from his cabinets. He calls Baekhyun too, telling him to go to Kyungsoo’s apartment and sending Chanyeol a picture of Jag-eun.

~

Kyungsoo doesn’t remember much when he wakes up on his bed, nose stuffy and feeling really thirsty. He looks around and sees a familiar figure sitting on the floor and leaning on the side of his bed. Kyungsoo is sure that position will hurt his back in the morning, but Jongin looked so peaceful sleeping he did not dare wake him up. He spots the glass of water on his side table, attempting to reach it, when said figure wakes up.

“You’re awake,” Jongin says, voice gruff with sleep while helping him up the bed. He helps him take a drink too, before settling back down on the floor.

“How are you feeling?” Jongin asks, looking like he’s waking still himself up.

“Weird.” He says softly.

Jongin smiles at him. “Maybe that’s a bit better then.” Jongin puts his hand on his forehead to check his temperature, and Kyungsoo leans to his touch almost automatically. He missed Jongin so much.

He was so comfortable with his face cradled in Jongin’s hand he was about to fall asleep again when he remembers. “Jag-eun?! Where’s Jag-eun?” he asks Jongin.

“Don’t worry. He’s in the living room.” Jongin says, combing Kyungsoo’s hair with his fingers. “I found him just beside the trashcan down the street. He cried when he saw me.” Jongin tells him softly.

Kyungsoo feels tears down his cheeks, and he feels Jongin’s fingers wipe them off. “Stop crying, he’s fine now.”

“He’s so stupid. Why did he run out if he’s going to cry?” Kyungsoo says, feeling nothing but fondness for the small kitten.

Jongin laughs softly at him. “Coming from you?” he asks.

“What?” Kyungsoo says, defensive.

“You left me out. You didn’t even tell me anything. You just suddenly didn’t accept my calls and sent pictures of Ben and Tuna like that’s going to assure me that you’re not sick, that you’re eating well, or that you’re feeling okay.” Jongin smiled sadly at him. “I was hurt, you know?”

Kyungsoo feels his tears starting up again. “I was s-scared.”

“Of?” Jongin goes back to petting his hair, trying to comfort him.

“Getting l-left behind a-again.” He whispers, like if speaking it out loud will make it happen.

“Baby, no.” Jongin says softly, wiping his tears. “How could I ever leave you?”

“I don’t kn-know.” He hears his own voice break. “Other people think it’s e-easy enough.” He says, a little bit of bitterness seeping through his voice.

Jongin climbs up the bed beside him, cuddling him closer to his chest. He buries his head on the crook of his neck, liking the warmth and the smell that’s so uniquely Jongin.

“Well I, for one, think that’s the stupidest thing to ever do.” Jongin starts, rubbing his back. “I think everyone here in your apartment agrees. Especially Jag-eun, I don’t think he’s ever leaving the house now. I mean his cries when he saw me outside were heartbreaking but he cried again and tried to cuddle you when he saw you on the bed. I just had to kick him out cos he was still wet. And then our other babies. And then Baekhyun and Chanyeol too, by the way. They’re in your living room sleeping on the couch.”

“What?” That made him look up from his comfortable position on Jongin’s neck. “Why?”

“They were very worried.” Jongin explains, rubbing his back. “Jongdae helped me look for Jag-eun too, he just had to go since apparently it’s his and his girlfriend’s anniversary and he had to cancel their date because we needed help.”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but full on cry. “Why would you guys do those things for me?”

Jongin laughs softly at him, teasing. “What do you mean? Jag-eun is my son too, of course me and my friends will look for him.”

Kyungsoo hits Jongin softly on the chest, Jongin laughing it off and cuddling him even closer.

“Stop crying,” he says softly. “I hate seeing you cry.” Jongin whispers, sounding sad and like _he_ ’s about to cry.

Kyungsoo has a lot to say, his heart feeling like bursting from a lot of things—sadness, regret, but mostly gratefulness, and love. Because how could he have possibly been given a gift as beautiful as Kim Jongin? And his small little creatures? And his friends?

_I love you_. Kyungsoo wants to say it so badly, but he’s still scared it might jinx everything.

“Does this mean you’re my b-boyfriend now?” he whispers, instead.

Jongin laughs at him again, before hugging him tightly. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be, baby.”

Kyungsoo can’t remember the last time he felt this happy. “Good. You can be my slave then.”

Jongin’s loud laugh had woken up Ben, who was apparently on the foot of his bed. Ben sees they’re awake and cuddles close to Kyungsoo’s other side before sleeping again.

Jongin adjusts himself so they’re face to face. “As long as I’m with you I’ll take anything.” He whispers, kissing him on the lips. “Being the slave of love isn’t so bad.” Jongin tells him all sappy, before hugging the blushing Kyungsoo even more tightly.

**Author's Note:**

> The last time I wrote a full fic would be in wattpad around eight years ago so please be kind with your comments. :(( I'd appreciate anything. TuT I really tried.  
> Also this would have been finished yesterday if Jongdae didn't do me dirty and distracted me TTuTT Congratulations Jongdaddy!


End file.
